Good gravy! I think the prices have sky-rocketed again! I won't bore you with the list of items I bought this time...suffice it to say that I spent A LOT and I even went through all the ads and had wal-mart comp the prices!
So here are some meals for this week:
Friday Night:
French bread pizza. I bought 2 loaves of french bread on the reduced rack for .86/each.
The kiddos will have pepperoni and Rory and I will have canadian bacon and pineapple.
Saturday Night:
Crock pot cube steak
Cube steak--I paid more than I normally would for these but I want to try this recipe. I think I paid about $7 for the package and it had 7-8 steaks in it. So there should be leftovers, too. I had the rest of the ingredients at home.
cream of mushroom soup
lipton dry soup mix
throw in the crock pot and cook all day
sides: fried squash and probably cucumbers and tomatoes from the farmer's market
Sunday Night:
Shrimp Po-Boys
I bought spinach to go on these. We usually substitute spinach for lettuce most days. I already had the shrimp ($5 at wally world--already cooked, peeled and deveined)
tomatoes from farmer's market
buns
Monday Night:
Grilled pork chops--on sale this week for $1.97/lb
fresh green beans from farmer's market
roasted caulifower
Tuesday Night:
Southwestern Chicken and Cornbread Salad.
It's a recipe from Martha Stewart--Martha Stewart I am not--don't even really care for her but the recipe looks good. You can see it here
Wednesday Night:
Woohoo Farmer's Market is open...hope to get some fresh pinto beans and make those and whatever else I pick up that day.
Thursday Night:
Leftovers if there are any or if we haven't eaten them for lunch during the week
Breakfast is usually waffles, sausage biscuits, eggs and bacon, cereal or whatever grabs your fancy. For lunch we have leftovers or sandwiches--pb&j, ham or turkey. There's plenty of fresh fruit, too. We have apples, bananas, grapes, blueberries and cherries and lots of tomatoes and cucumbers from the farmer's market.
Happy Eating!
Friday, June 1, 2012
Tuesday, May 22, 2012
End of the year
Somehow we trudged on through and completed our 4th year of homeschooling! I'm so proud of Bryan! He has done an excellent job this year. This year has been quite different from the previous year seeing how that Patrick was mobile and very active! I'm not sure how we survived most days, but we did!
Bryan's favorite subject was literature. I will have to agree that it is my favorite to teach, too. This year we read To Kill A Mockingbird, Guns for General Washington, Call of the Wild and The Three Musketeers. Each selection was an excellent choice and we were very much wrapped up in the stories. Mockingbird has always been my favorite book but Musketeers is now probably a very close 2nd!
Math was...well it was Math! We used Bob Jones for Pre-Algebra as well as Life of Fred by Stanley Schmidt. I cannot say enough good things about both programs. Bob Jones is straight-forward and explains mathematical concepts extremely well. Life of Fred is an excellent program that will help any student that prefers literature over Math. Fred is a self-teaching program that is literature based but somehow in the process of reading the adventures of 5 year old professor Fred, you also learn math. I thank God everyday for the Life of Fred series. It has been a life-saver for us lovers of Literature!
The best Grammar program, in my opinion, is Giggly Grammar. We enjoyed this program because it kept us in stitches! Grammar doesn't change--a noun will always been a noun...well you know in most cases, it will be ;) Grammar doesn't change almost overnight like Science does. If you are struggling or just need a change of scenery where Grammar is concerned I highly recommend Giggly Grammar. It's for grades 1-8.
This year for History we chose a dvd program. With Patrick being mobile and up more during the day I wanted Bryan to be able to keep on schooling without too much interruption. I ordered American History from The Great Courses. This worked out well. Bryan enjoyed the lecture style learning and it helped with his note taking skills. I bought this program on sale. I'm hoping to purchase more in the future. You really have to watch for the sales because it is a very pricey program!
Another noteworthy product is One Year Novel Adventure. I would only recommend this if your child loves to write. It is also marketed for reluctant writers so if you have a reluctant writer you may want to try this one out, too. But my honest opinion after seeing the demo and the work that has to be done, I would only choose this for a student that loves to write. Bryan has enjoyed this program immensely. He finished his book but I told him to take a break on the revision. It is a long process. He will be using this program again next year using the Science Fiction/Fantasy curriculum. He loves to write and even as biased as I am he is an excellent writer. I can't wait to see what kind of stories he will turn out as his writing skills mature.
The one subject that I did not like our choice of curriculum was Science. I have already given the books away and cannot remember the name of them. The company is based in California and they have Science trilogy program--Physical, Earth and Life Science. I taught Earth Science this year. I supplemented with a lot of outside books and videos from youtube, how stuff works and netflix. Thankfully, Rory is an astronomy buff and helped with filling in the gaps from the text. Science is always the difficult subject because so many homeschool companies cater to a young earth, non-evolutionary brand of Science. Trust me though, there are homeschoolers out there who love God and Jesus but we want to teach our children Science. We save religious matters for when we study the Bible :)
We also dabbled in some Spanish and will be picking up the pace on that for high school credit. Logic, Music and Art made the occasional rounds, too. Bryan was involved in the local teen homeschool group and 4-H Rifle club.
Overall, I call the year a success. It was very different from the previous years but we covered the basics and then some. I am elated that we get to homeschool our children. I cannot think of a better environment for my children to learn and be nurtured until it is time for them to spread their wings. As far as all the nay-sayers...who think homeschoolers are denim wearing, socially awkward, religious nutjobs, I ask you to reconsider your ideas of homeschooling. We are parents that are raising our children the best way as we see it. We do not ask for your blessings and we do not offer advice or dismiss your thoughts on how you school your child. We know our children best and as parents it is our job to do the best we can to prepare them for the future. You can disagree all you wish, but do us all a favor and keep the negativity and judgmental attitudes to yourself--well unless you want me to start barking at you about your parental decisions...Happy Schooling!
Bryan's favorite subject was literature. I will have to agree that it is my favorite to teach, too. This year we read To Kill A Mockingbird, Guns for General Washington, Call of the Wild and The Three Musketeers. Each selection was an excellent choice and we were very much wrapped up in the stories. Mockingbird has always been my favorite book but Musketeers is now probably a very close 2nd!
Math was...well it was Math! We used Bob Jones for Pre-Algebra as well as Life of Fred by Stanley Schmidt. I cannot say enough good things about both programs. Bob Jones is straight-forward and explains mathematical concepts extremely well. Life of Fred is an excellent program that will help any student that prefers literature over Math. Fred is a self-teaching program that is literature based but somehow in the process of reading the adventures of 5 year old professor Fred, you also learn math. I thank God everyday for the Life of Fred series. It has been a life-saver for us lovers of Literature!
The best Grammar program, in my opinion, is Giggly Grammar. We enjoyed this program because it kept us in stitches! Grammar doesn't change--a noun will always been a noun...well you know in most cases, it will be ;) Grammar doesn't change almost overnight like Science does. If you are struggling or just need a change of scenery where Grammar is concerned I highly recommend Giggly Grammar. It's for grades 1-8.
This year for History we chose a dvd program. With Patrick being mobile and up more during the day I wanted Bryan to be able to keep on schooling without too much interruption. I ordered American History from The Great Courses. This worked out well. Bryan enjoyed the lecture style learning and it helped with his note taking skills. I bought this program on sale. I'm hoping to purchase more in the future. You really have to watch for the sales because it is a very pricey program!
Another noteworthy product is One Year Novel Adventure. I would only recommend this if your child loves to write. It is also marketed for reluctant writers so if you have a reluctant writer you may want to try this one out, too. But my honest opinion after seeing the demo and the work that has to be done, I would only choose this for a student that loves to write. Bryan has enjoyed this program immensely. He finished his book but I told him to take a break on the revision. It is a long process. He will be using this program again next year using the Science Fiction/Fantasy curriculum. He loves to write and even as biased as I am he is an excellent writer. I can't wait to see what kind of stories he will turn out as his writing skills mature.
The one subject that I did not like our choice of curriculum was Science. I have already given the books away and cannot remember the name of them. The company is based in California and they have Science trilogy program--Physical, Earth and Life Science. I taught Earth Science this year. I supplemented with a lot of outside books and videos from youtube, how stuff works and netflix. Thankfully, Rory is an astronomy buff and helped with filling in the gaps from the text. Science is always the difficult subject because so many homeschool companies cater to a young earth, non-evolutionary brand of Science. Trust me though, there are homeschoolers out there who love God and Jesus but we want to teach our children Science. We save religious matters for when we study the Bible :)
We also dabbled in some Spanish and will be picking up the pace on that for high school credit. Logic, Music and Art made the occasional rounds, too. Bryan was involved in the local teen homeschool group and 4-H Rifle club.
Overall, I call the year a success. It was very different from the previous years but we covered the basics and then some. I am elated that we get to homeschool our children. I cannot think of a better environment for my children to learn and be nurtured until it is time for them to spread their wings. As far as all the nay-sayers...who think homeschoolers are denim wearing, socially awkward, religious nutjobs, I ask you to reconsider your ideas of homeschooling. We are parents that are raising our children the best way as we see it. We do not ask for your blessings and we do not offer advice or dismiss your thoughts on how you school your child. We know our children best and as parents it is our job to do the best we can to prepare them for the future. You can disagree all you wish, but do us all a favor and keep the negativity and judgmental attitudes to yourself--well unless you want me to start barking at you about your parental decisions...Happy Schooling!
Wednesday, May 9, 2012
People
This morning I was singing to Patrick and now I have 'It's a Small World' running through my head...
When you think about it, it really is a small world. Oceans separate us and it's a 24+ hr. flight to some places in the world but when it comes down to it, people are just people aren't they? On some level we all have the same ideas. We just go about it differently on how we want to accomplish those ideas. But, I don't get people...
People confuse me. I'm not a people person and for the most part I would be just fine with my little family and no interference from the 'outsiders'. I was recently reading on a board how many people seem to think that it is inconsiderate to share good things about your children. I was like 'what??' I am always sharing the things that my children do. I am so dang proud of them! I don't think of myself as a braggart. I stopped reading the thread but by the 10th or 11th page. By then I think most agreed that the offended parents were insecure or dealing with a problem with their child. My thoughts are that every child is good at something and there is good in every day--why are you not sharing the good? Why are you dwelling on the bad and being offended at a comment that someone else made? See, I don't get people...
People seem to get pissed off at the slightest inconveniences to them. I don't understand that either. Wake up Waldo--you are not the center of the universe and my world does not revolve around you! I think I am a kind person (I smile at random people in Walmart) and try to help others when I can, but I also know my limits. It's a good thing to know your limits because then you are not out there trying to please everybody in the world. It works for me, but again, I don't get people...
Other things that I have read about today--not using the term boy or girl in a classroom situation. This one really boggles my mind. I mean either you are a boy or a girl. So it seems there is curricula out there that will help a teacher to teach in a non-gender fashion so as to not offend a boy or a girl--WOW! See, I don't get people...
Spanking kids. A swat here and there on the bottom ok--I probably don't have a problem with that on most days. I read a story about a child lying for 2 weeks and after she finally confessed she got a spanking every day for 2 weeks. Yeah, that's mother of the year material right there! And add to it that it's all in the name of God that this is done. I don't pretend to know the mind of God, but I'm betting He thought it was cruel...I don't get people...
I thought at one time I had a handle on people but lately I have to realize just how fragile everyone is. People seem to mask things very well these days. But just observe them a little closer...most are hanging on by a thread. That one is insecure, that one thinks she's ugly, the other one is sneaky or at least he thinks he is, those over there are ready to drop their kids off at a fire station, these are eaten up with guilt, she worries all the time...the list goes on...and the song plays on "It's a small world afterall...it's a small, small world'.
When you think about it, it really is a small world. Oceans separate us and it's a 24+ hr. flight to some places in the world but when it comes down to it, people are just people aren't they? On some level we all have the same ideas. We just go about it differently on how we want to accomplish those ideas. But, I don't get people...
People confuse me. I'm not a people person and for the most part I would be just fine with my little family and no interference from the 'outsiders'. I was recently reading on a board how many people seem to think that it is inconsiderate to share good things about your children. I was like 'what??' I am always sharing the things that my children do. I am so dang proud of them! I don't think of myself as a braggart. I stopped reading the thread but by the 10th or 11th page. By then I think most agreed that the offended parents were insecure or dealing with a problem with their child. My thoughts are that every child is good at something and there is good in every day--why are you not sharing the good? Why are you dwelling on the bad and being offended at a comment that someone else made? See, I don't get people...
People seem to get pissed off at the slightest inconveniences to them. I don't understand that either. Wake up Waldo--you are not the center of the universe and my world does not revolve around you! I think I am a kind person (I smile at random people in Walmart) and try to help others when I can, but I also know my limits. It's a good thing to know your limits because then you are not out there trying to please everybody in the world. It works for me, but again, I don't get people...
Other things that I have read about today--not using the term boy or girl in a classroom situation. This one really boggles my mind. I mean either you are a boy or a girl. So it seems there is curricula out there that will help a teacher to teach in a non-gender fashion so as to not offend a boy or a girl--WOW! See, I don't get people...
Spanking kids. A swat here and there on the bottom ok--I probably don't have a problem with that on most days. I read a story about a child lying for 2 weeks and after she finally confessed she got a spanking every day for 2 weeks. Yeah, that's mother of the year material right there! And add to it that it's all in the name of God that this is done. I don't pretend to know the mind of God, but I'm betting He thought it was cruel...I don't get people...
I thought at one time I had a handle on people but lately I have to realize just how fragile everyone is. People seem to mask things very well these days. But just observe them a little closer...most are hanging on by a thread. That one is insecure, that one thinks she's ugly, the other one is sneaky or at least he thinks he is, those over there are ready to drop their kids off at a fire station, these are eaten up with guilt, she worries all the time...the list goes on...and the song plays on "It's a small world afterall...it's a small, small world'.
Monday, May 7, 2012
More Ramblings & Some Good Food
I feel like I am in a constant state of baby-proofing. This child loves the dishwasher--if he sees a chance to get in the kitchen he is in the dishwasher, this of course after he has pulled everything he can reach out of the pantry. He's learned to open the patio door and of course a couple of weeks ago he learned how to open the gates in the backyard. I need to start budgeting in a monthly expense for baby-proofing materials...
Instead of whining and complaining about the $77 I spent at the grocery store today I'll tell you what I have planned for dinner this week. It's a plan. It doesn't necessarily mean that it will happen...
Tonight I am going out with a friend for dinner. We have been trying to get together since September...so I tried to make it an easy dinner tonight and picked up some already made chicken fried steak. No, it's not healthy but it is quick and easy and they will all eat it.
Tuesday--another crazy evening. This time I am making it easy on myself. We will have chili-cheese dogs.
Wednesday--Lasagna. Love, love, love lasagna.
Thursday--Chicken and Dumplings
Friday--Leftovers
Here's my lasagna recipe:
Instead of whining and complaining about the $77 I spent at the grocery store today I'll tell you what I have planned for dinner this week. It's a plan. It doesn't necessarily mean that it will happen...
Tonight I am going out with a friend for dinner. We have been trying to get together since September...so I tried to make it an easy dinner tonight and picked up some already made chicken fried steak. No, it's not healthy but it is quick and easy and they will all eat it.
Tuesday--another crazy evening. This time I am making it easy on myself. We will have chili-cheese dogs.
Wednesday--Lasagna. Love, love, love lasagna.
Thursday--Chicken and Dumplings
Friday--Leftovers
Here's my lasagna recipe:
Lasagna
1 lb ground beef
oven-ready lasagna noodles
1 can tomato sauce
2T butter
sliced mushrooms
chopped green bell pepper
salt
pepper
garlic—2-3 cloves or garlic powder
shredded cheese 2-3 cups reserve enough to cover last layer
lg container of cottage cheese
¼ c. parmesan cheese-fresh or the green can I prefer fresh
1 egg
Preheat oven to 425
Saute mushrooms, bell pepper and chopped garlic cloves in
butter. Set aside. Cook meat and season w/salt and pepper,
garlic powder. After the meat is cooked,
add tomato sauce and sautéed mushrooms and bell pepper and let simmer for a few
minutes. In a large bowl mix cottage
cheese, shredded cheese, parmesan cheese and one egg. I usually add a little more pepper, too. Spoon a little sauce in the bottom of the
pan(9x9 or 9x13). Place lasagna noodles
down in the pan and then layer the cheese mixture and then the meat sauce. Layer until you are almost to the top of the
pan. Cover last layer generously
w/reserved shredded cheese. Cover with
aluminum foil and bake for 30 mins.
Remove aluminum foil and bake an
additional 20-30 minutes. Let
cool then slice and serve!
And even though my poor family will be eating already made chicken fried steak. Here is a picture of my chicken fried steak...which will probably be making an appearance around Father's Day, if not before!
Thursday, May 3, 2012
Memories
Have you ever been doing something and a memory so powerful stops you in your tracks? This morning on the way back home I was reciting nursery rhymes to Patrick. He likes the rhythm of the words and waits for the end and then claps and yells 'YAY!!! YAY!!!'
Right in the middle of 'Jack be nimble, Jack be quick...' I found myself being about 4 years old back in my grandma's living room. She was always reciting nursery rhymes to us when we were little. Around Christmastime we always got to hear 'Twas the Night Before Christmas' from memory and for nap time we heard her version of 'Riding Pony to Nap Town'.
She loved to tell us stories. Fairy tales or stories that she made up as she went along...it kept us entertained for hours. Well that and putting us in chicken boxes with a pair of scissors and all the paper we could possibly cut up.
I guess the 'gotcha' moment for me was that none of her great-grandchildren will ever have those moments with her. Lord, they would have been spoiled rotten if she had lived to see any of them! They would have also known what 'isolation' meant, how to properly hold a goblet or drink out of the aluminum cup until they learned! They would have had their imaginations expanded, a head start on any other child their age and would understand in a moment exactly when they needed to change their behavior because that peach tree was just a hop, jump and leap out to the side of her front door and if you couldn't pick a proper limb she knew just where to find it oh, and they would all probably have a pair of 2 sizes too big tennis shoes with kleenex stuffed in the toes that would help them outrun anybody in their whole class!
So I pulled into the driveway...'Jack be nimble, Jack be quick, Jack jumped over the candlestick...'
Right in the middle of 'Jack be nimble, Jack be quick...' I found myself being about 4 years old back in my grandma's living room. She was always reciting nursery rhymes to us when we were little. Around Christmastime we always got to hear 'Twas the Night Before Christmas' from memory and for nap time we heard her version of 'Riding Pony to Nap Town'.
She loved to tell us stories. Fairy tales or stories that she made up as she went along...it kept us entertained for hours. Well that and putting us in chicken boxes with a pair of scissors and all the paper we could possibly cut up.
I guess the 'gotcha' moment for me was that none of her great-grandchildren will ever have those moments with her. Lord, they would have been spoiled rotten if she had lived to see any of them! They would have also known what 'isolation' meant, how to properly hold a goblet or drink out of the aluminum cup until they learned! They would have had their imaginations expanded, a head start on any other child their age and would understand in a moment exactly when they needed to change their behavior because that peach tree was just a hop, jump and leap out to the side of her front door and if you couldn't pick a proper limb she knew just where to find it oh, and they would all probably have a pair of 2 sizes too big tennis shoes with kleenex stuffed in the toes that would help them outrun anybody in their whole class!
So I pulled into the driveway...'Jack be nimble, Jack be quick, Jack jumped over the candlestick...'
Tuesday, May 1, 2012
Groceries Are Too Damn Expensive!
Ok I'll be the first to admit that I also buy some junk but I still stand by groceries are too damn expensive! Today I went to the grocery store--in this case walmart because while the other stores in my area have an item or 2 cheaper I always tend to spend more money in other stores so I keep going back to walmart...
Here's what I bought today:
Food
3lbs of apples
1 lb mushrooms
carton of strawberries
1 red onion
1 lb spinach
2 bell peppers
5 lbs bananas
8 sausage/egg/cheese biscuit--yes, I know cheaper to make but sometimes convenience wins out over price
large box of eggo waffles--again convenience and the generic ones taste awful so let go my ego
2.5 lbs chicken breast
ice cream drumsticks-Nestle because they were out of store brand
2.5 lbs bacon--this will last all month
1 lb deli ham
1 pkg of oscar mayer thick cut bologna--because I like this about 2x/year My bologna has a first name...
24 piece slice cheese
cereal-generic cheerios
radiatore pasta
egg noodles
2 c pkg shredded cheese
bbq sauce
dry soup mix
oatmeal bars-2 boxes
doritos
kettle chips
rice-for P to play with
minute rice--again convenience
crisco--because I buy some every couple of years and today was that day
1 lb butter
cinnamon rolls
frosted flakes-generic
bottled water
Jif Natural peanut butter--the big jar because choosy moms choose Jif and that's what they like around here ;)
Syrup or as Bryan calls it Pancake Sauce--because we have been out for awhile now and I finally remembered to pick some up
Coke-24 pack-because we all have a vice and sweet caffeine is mine
Dr Pepper-24 pack because Bryan and Rory like them
Gatorade 8 pack
1 Gallon of milk--that mom paid for...because I told the cashier it wasn't mine...good thing it was mom standing behind me in line!
Campbells condensed soups--again convenience 2 mushroom, 1 chicken, 1 cheese and 1 beef consomme
1 box of chicken broth--yeah there's that convenience again
1 can of black beans
4 cans of tomato sauce
the largest bottle of Hunt's ketchup w/o hfcs--because sometimes I am 'healthy' like that
1 bottle of cran/grape no sugar added
1 pkg of vienna sausages because P and I love them--yes, I know what they are!
18 eggs
1 loaf of bread--Nature's Own Honey Wheat--because I don't have time to bake my own--I'm too busy telling you about how much money I spent!
Non Food Items
Toilet paper-9 double roll
3 pack Viva paper towels--because I like them
Dove soap--I think there are 6 bars--because I tried cheaper soaps and we don't like them
dental floss--glide for sensitive teeth and gums--It doesn't get stuck between my teeth--that's why I pay almost $4 for floss!
Just Because Stuff
Giant bottle of bubbles--because regardless of what Pinterest says Dawn dishwashing soap does not make good bubbles--spend the $1.68 and get the good bubbles
An outside ball for P because the one he had busted
Grand Total :$183.94
Geez imagine if I had to buy Goat milk this week...that would have been an extra $25! If not mentioned everything is generic. I don't buy organic or anything like that because quite frankly I believe that one day we will find out that it wasn't really 'organic' and I can't afford it anyway...and I'm off to Tallent's this afternoon to pick up some ground beef and sausage...maybe some steak if it's on sale...
I didn't buy a lot of veggies because I have plenty of broccoli, brussel sprouts, corn and green beans in either the pantry or freezer. The store did not have cauliflower today--that was on my list to buy.
And I'll probably be back in the store this weekend well because 5lbs of bananas will last about 3 days around here ;)
Friday, April 27, 2012
Some rambling observations
1) Don't drink and drive. Why are we as a society still fighting this battle? Haven't we learned from Don't Drink and Drive, MADD and all the gruesome and heart-wrenching drunk-driving portrayals that are par for the course in most high schools and colleges just how dangerous it is to drink and then get behind the wheel of a car? You are not better than everyone else, you have not been endowed with superpowers to get behind a wheel after drinking and make it home without incident. And for God's sake and everyone else's if you are a grown-assed adult please join AA or some other support group that will keep you from making this mistake again! STOP DRINKING AND DRIVING AND RUINING OTHER PEOPLE'S LIVES!
2) Don't be a dumb-bird. This poor bird put her nest in a very small and fragile tree...
Here is the tree and the nest:
3) If you do not have children, have not raised your own children or your child is 2 days old, stop handing out parenting advice. You have no idea what you are talking about and we are all rolling our eyes at you. All the reading articles, books, taking classes and here-say, etc. will never be the same as taking care of a child day in and day out.
4) If you love your husband, wife, companion or whatever you call that person that you are spending your life with, TELL THEM! This goes for anyone that you care deeply for--let them know what they mean to you. If your marriage is having a problem get in there and get it sorted out--don't let things build up--fight for your marriage! Now if you are dealing with Adultery, Addiction or Abuse--please seek help for those immediately!
5) Raising a teenager and toddler at the same time is challenging. Leave it to the experts out there lol
6) Stop worrying about everything ALL THE TIME. Some things are just out of your control and what will be, will be--deal with it and move on.
7) Read something everyday. Eat chocolate everyday. It will make the day more enjoyable!
8) If you want to lose weight put down the bag of chips and step away from the computer
9) If you are an elementary teacher yet you cannot teach basic skills to children, maybe you should think about a career change--you sure would have saved me a lot of heartache--I know you'll never see this but you know who you are.
10) If you are always surrounded by drama...it may be you that is the drama queen
11) Pray everyday for the stupid people--they need all the help they can get
12) One day grammar will be subjective
2) Don't be a dumb-bird. This poor bird put her nest in a very small and fragile tree...
Here is the tree and the nest:
3) If you do not have children, have not raised your own children or your child is 2 days old, stop handing out parenting advice. You have no idea what you are talking about and we are all rolling our eyes at you. All the reading articles, books, taking classes and here-say, etc. will never be the same as taking care of a child day in and day out.
4) If you love your husband, wife, companion or whatever you call that person that you are spending your life with, TELL THEM! This goes for anyone that you care deeply for--let them know what they mean to you. If your marriage is having a problem get in there and get it sorted out--don't let things build up--fight for your marriage! Now if you are dealing with Adultery, Addiction or Abuse--please seek help for those immediately!
5) Raising a teenager and toddler at the same time is challenging. Leave it to the experts out there lol
6) Stop worrying about everything ALL THE TIME. Some things are just out of your control and what will be, will be--deal with it and move on.
7) Read something everyday. Eat chocolate everyday. It will make the day more enjoyable!
8) If you want to lose weight put down the bag of chips and step away from the computer
9) If you are an elementary teacher yet you cannot teach basic skills to children, maybe you should think about a career change--you sure would have saved me a lot of heartache--I know you'll never see this but you know who you are.
10) If you are always surrounded by drama...it may be you that is the drama queen
11) Pray everyday for the stupid people--they need all the help they can get
12) One day grammar will be subjective
Tuesday, April 24, 2012
Not All Homeschoolers are Conservative Christians
and you know what that is ok! I'm a Christian and a former Conservative Christian(I guess you could say--I don't think I was ever wound as tight as some of the more vocal ccs are). And now to try and not offend Conservative Christians because I know that they do not all fit the stereotype of having to have things their way, being small-minded, and full of hate, etc., that is so often portrayed in the media and elsewhere. As a matter of fact, I have friends that are Conservative Christian and as far I know we are on friendly terms. Hopefully that doesn't change after today but if it does...well we were never friends anyway were we?
Seems that there has been another kerfuffle in the homeschooling community. This time Julie Bogart (author of Bravewriter homeschool materials) as well as other previous speakers were not invited back to Great Homeschool Conventions in Cincinnati. It is my understanding that until this year that GHC was created to serve the whole homeschool community even though the group was formed by Conservative Christians--sounds wonderful doesn't it? Extending an olive branch, loving our neighbors, all trying to do what we think is best for our children, etc. Well for whatever reason GHC issued a statement(paraphrased) that they will not be inviting speakers that do not share their specific core of beliefs. It's sad really, because now GHC has lost a group of homeschoolers that are both Christian and Non-Christian and at the same time tarnished how the world views Christians. Why do people not realize the harm they are doing when their words and actions show that they will only provide services to or gain the friendship of someone who shares the same set of beliefs? Just to add in here--One very well known speaker(Dr. Susan Wise Bauer) invited Julie Bogart to be a part of her booth at the convention. Bravo to SWB!
This problem is widespread in the homeschool community. It branches all the way from the little local homeschool co-ops and support groups all the way up to national levels. Even the group that I have belonged to for the last 4 years now has a marriage clause in it. Really? We are homeschooling our kids because we think that is what is best for them. Does our belief about marriage come into play when setting up a co-op class or a playdate? My answer is 'no'. And the reason my answer is 'no' is because I know the back story and there are no classes dealing with marriage in our little scenario. One person thought they were high and mighty and knew what was best for ALL members of the group. My guess is that she doesn't really know what is best for ALL members...and I'm left trying to decide is it worth the $10/year so son #1 can hang-out with the children of the 'I know better than you do' parents. Where do I draw my lines? Just because a parent can be mean doesn't necessarily mean their child will be...or what about 'the apple doesn't fall from the tree'? See I could go in circles all day long...
So here's what I have to say to the 'high and mighty' ones that think they know what is best for ALL:
And you must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, and all your strength.’The second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’No other commandment is greater than these.” Mark 12:30-31
Parable of the Good Samaritan
Jesus replied with a story: “A Jewish man was traveling from Jerusalem down to Jericho, and he was attacked by bandits. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him up, and left him half dead beside the road.
“By chance a priest came along. But when he saw the man lying there, he crossed to the other side of the road and passed him by. A Temple assistant walked over and looked at him lying there, but he also passed by on the other side.
“Then a despised Samaritan came along, and when he saw the man, he felt compassion for him. Going over to him, the Samaritan soothed his wounds with olive oil and wine and bandaged them. Then he put the man on his own donkey and took him to an inn, where he took care of him. The next day he handed the innkeeper two silver coins, telling him, ‘Take care of this man. If his bill runs higher than this, I’ll pay you the next time I’m here.’
“Now which of these three would you say was a neighbor to the man who was attacked by bandits?” Jesus asked.
The man replied, “The one who showed him mercy.”
Then Jesus said, “Yes, now go and do the same.” Luke 10:30-37
Love is patient and kind. I Corinthians 13:4
Your kindness will reward you, but your cruelty will destroy you. Proverbs 11:17
But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things! Galatians 5:22-23
I think poem sums it up nicely and it has always been one of favorites
All I really need to know about how to live and what to do and how to be I learned in kindergarten.
Wisdom was not at the top of the graduate school mountain, but there in the sand pile at school.
These are the things I learned:
Share everything.
Play fair.
Don't hit people.
Put things back where you found them.
Clean up your own mess.
Don't take things that aren't yours.
Say you're sorry when you hurt somebody.
Wash your hands before you eat.
Flush.
Warm cookies and cold milk are good for you.
Live a balanced life - learn some and think some and draw and paint and sing and dance and play and work every day some.
Take a nap every afternoon.
When you go out in the world, watch out for traffic, hold hands and stick together.
Be aware of wonder. Remember the little seed in the Styrofoam cup: the roots go down and the plant goes up and nobody really knows how or why, but we are all like that.
Goldfish and hamsters and white mice and even the little seed in the Styrofoam cup - they all die. So do we.
And then remember the Dick-and-Jane books and the first word you learned - the biggest word of all - LOOK. -Robert Fulghum
Seems that there has been another kerfuffle in the homeschooling community. This time Julie Bogart (author of Bravewriter homeschool materials) as well as other previous speakers were not invited back to Great Homeschool Conventions in Cincinnati. It is my understanding that until this year that GHC was created to serve the whole homeschool community even though the group was formed by Conservative Christians--sounds wonderful doesn't it? Extending an olive branch, loving our neighbors, all trying to do what we think is best for our children, etc. Well for whatever reason GHC issued a statement(paraphrased) that they will not be inviting speakers that do not share their specific core of beliefs. It's sad really, because now GHC has lost a group of homeschoolers that are both Christian and Non-Christian and at the same time tarnished how the world views Christians. Why do people not realize the harm they are doing when their words and actions show that they will only provide services to or gain the friendship of someone who shares the same set of beliefs? Just to add in here--One very well known speaker(Dr. Susan Wise Bauer) invited Julie Bogart to be a part of her booth at the convention. Bravo to SWB!
This problem is widespread in the homeschool community. It branches all the way from the little local homeschool co-ops and support groups all the way up to national levels. Even the group that I have belonged to for the last 4 years now has a marriage clause in it. Really? We are homeschooling our kids because we think that is what is best for them. Does our belief about marriage come into play when setting up a co-op class or a playdate? My answer is 'no'. And the reason my answer is 'no' is because I know the back story and there are no classes dealing with marriage in our little scenario. One person thought they were high and mighty and knew what was best for ALL members of the group. My guess is that she doesn't really know what is best for ALL members...and I'm left trying to decide is it worth the $10/year so son #1 can hang-out with the children of the 'I know better than you do' parents. Where do I draw my lines? Just because a parent can be mean doesn't necessarily mean their child will be...or what about 'the apple doesn't fall from the tree'? See I could go in circles all day long...
So here's what I have to say to the 'high and mighty' ones that think they know what is best for ALL:
And you must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, and all your strength.’The second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’No other commandment is greater than these.” Mark 12:30-31
Parable of the Good Samaritan
Jesus replied with a story: “A Jewish man was traveling from Jerusalem down to Jericho, and he was attacked by bandits. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him up, and left him half dead beside the road.
“By chance a priest came along. But when he saw the man lying there, he crossed to the other side of the road and passed him by. A Temple assistant walked over and looked at him lying there, but he also passed by on the other side.
“Then a despised Samaritan came along, and when he saw the man, he felt compassion for him. Going over to him, the Samaritan soothed his wounds with olive oil and wine and bandaged them. Then he put the man on his own donkey and took him to an inn, where he took care of him. The next day he handed the innkeeper two silver coins, telling him, ‘Take care of this man. If his bill runs higher than this, I’ll pay you the next time I’m here.’
“Now which of these three would you say was a neighbor to the man who was attacked by bandits?” Jesus asked.
The man replied, “The one who showed him mercy.”
Then Jesus said, “Yes, now go and do the same.” Luke 10:30-37
Love is patient and kind. I Corinthians 13:4
Your kindness will reward you, but your cruelty will destroy you. Proverbs 11:17
But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things! Galatians 5:22-23
I think poem sums it up nicely and it has always been one of favorites
All I really need to know about how to live and what to do and how to be I learned in kindergarten.
Wisdom was not at the top of the graduate school mountain, but there in the sand pile at school.
These are the things I learned:
Share everything.
Play fair.
Don't hit people.
Put things back where you found them.
Clean up your own mess.
Don't take things that aren't yours.
Say you're sorry when you hurt somebody.
Wash your hands before you eat.
Flush.
Warm cookies and cold milk are good for you.
Live a balanced life - learn some and think some and draw and paint and sing and dance and play and work every day some.
Take a nap every afternoon.
When you go out in the world, watch out for traffic, hold hands and stick together.
Be aware of wonder. Remember the little seed in the Styrofoam cup: the roots go down and the plant goes up and nobody really knows how or why, but we are all like that.
Goldfish and hamsters and white mice and even the little seed in the Styrofoam cup - they all die. So do we.
And then remember the Dick-and-Jane books and the first word you learned - the biggest word of all - LOOK. -Robert Fulghum
Monday, April 23, 2012
Definitely a Monday around my house today
Well it's been awhile since I've blogged but after this morning's events it seems like I should share some of the fun with the rest of the world. We are still homeschooling and I'll catch y'all up on that as we go along.
This morning I went to get the baby and found that he had stripped from the waist down! He was all smiley and so proud of himself. What I am still trying to figure out is how he slept all night. He had to take the diaper off pretty early in the night as it was almost completely dry! Geez, if I knew sleeping in a urine soaked bed was the key to getting to sleep all night I would have let him sleep naked a long time. Ok, I'm kidding! Can you imagine the mess that would have created and the money that I would have to spend on mattress replacements?? Thankfully, Rory was still home and I was able to hand off lord and master of the pee-pee to him. While Rory got pee-pee monster settled in the tub I stripped the bed and cleaned the carpet...
Next on the agenda was getting some breakfast. I decided that bacon and eggs would be a great Monday breakfast. All goes well with cooking breakfast...then I decide that it would be nice to go ahead and put something in the crock pot for dinner tonight. I remembered that there was this recipe that I found on Pinterest that I wanted to try. It sounded simple and I had all the ingredients: Chicken, cream cheese, corn, rotel and black beans. I got the chicken out of the freezer and started unwrapping it--it was wrapped in press and seal and then put in a freezer bag. Shouldn't be a problem, right? Well somehow one little bitty piece of plastic was stuck between 2 pieces of chicken. As hard as I tried I could not pull it out and running it under water did not help either. I was trying to avoid defrosting it in the microwave because that would mean one more dirty dish that I would have to look at. By this time the eggs were starting to get cold and the pee-pee monster was wanting more than the milk I gave him 15 minutes ago. So I washed my hands(because who wants to get salmonella at 8:30 in the morning??) and started feeding the pee-pee monster. Ding the microwave went off and I still could not get this blasted piece of plastic from between the chicken pieces! I was contemplating just cooking it that way and whoever found the plastic at dinner would win a prize! Finally after several minutes in the microwave and lots of hand washing in between(because I am still feeding pee-pee monster and trying to jerk this little piece of plastic out of the chicken every few minutes) the plastic is released and I do a happy happy joy dance and throw all the ingredients into the crock pot. I feel on top of the world because every few seconds I am mentally reminding myself to turn on the crock pot--and it works because I remembered to turn it on instead of leaving raw chicken and various ingredients in a cold pot all day long--don't laugh you've done it too!
The next thing I know shoes are being tossed at me by the pee-pee monster. He's also carrying around one of his tennis-shoes. This means, 'take me outside'. I put my shoes on and he brings me another pair of shoes and insists that I put them on, too. Finally after about 15 times of putting the shoes away and trying to explain to a toddler that you can only wear one pair of shoes, I think he gets it. Meanwhile, he is still walking around with only one of his shoes on...
It is a beautiful day today. The humidity is low and it's not even 70 degrees yet. I've taught pee-pee monster to run when I say, 'on your mark, get set, go!' He thinks it's hilarious and runs as fast as he can while trying not to stumble because he's giggling so hard! Then the dreaded neighbor dog shows up...I don't mind dogs, but this dog is the most annoying yappy little dog I have had the pleasure of knowing. Oh course pee-pee monster loves this dog and makes a beeline for the fence. Thankfully, today I was able to direct his attention elsewhere and we did not have to talk to the annoying, yappy dog. So, we started running again and we found this little butterfly. The picture is not all that great because I only had the camera on my phone. If I had gone inside to get the camera I would have never found the butterfly again.
I'm old and all that running around wears me out so I decided to sit on the step of the deck. Pee-pee monster joins me for a few minutes. He keeps talking to all the birds flying around and pointing at them-'boord, boord, boord' My mom told me that her hummingbirds were starting to make an appearance. I hadn't seen any of ours yet but they showed up today. So pee-pee monster and I went in the house and made up some hummingbird food. The bird circled around a few more times while we were outside but he still hasn't decided to eat yet. 
After a few more times of 'on your mark, get set, go!' I decide it's time to come in because there are mounds of laundry to do today and son #1 will be getting up and we need to get the school day started. While I was gathering laundry, son #1 is in the garage getting a waffle out of the fridge in there(he doesn't eat eggs, but I did cook him some bacon)and the pee-pee monster somehow manages to close and lock the door out to the garage...I walk out to start laundry and son #1 is opening the garage door so he can walk around to get back in the house. Great! pee-pee monster knows how to work the locks on doors...
While son #1 wakes up and eats breakfast the pee-pee monster and I go to his room to play and read books. Son #1 loved books and we could read for hours. Pee-pee monster, well he is all about figuring things out and getting into all the trouble he can before he can be found out. I did manage to get a couple of books read to him today. One is a classic The Purple Crayon by Crockett Johnson and the other is Yummy Yucky by one of my new favorite children's author Leslie Patricelli.
Laundry is going, floors have been vacuumed, pee-pee monster has had a nutritious lunch of ham sandwich, grapes and milk and for now he sleeps and we all relax a little bit...and the day is only half-over...Do I have any volunteers to clean the kitchen and bathrooms because I have my sights set on Algebra and The Three Musketeers with son #1 oh yeah and I've got to make that peach cobbler today!
Dinner Tonight
chicken breasts--they can be frozen just make sure all the plastic is removed!
1 pkg cream cheese
1/2 bag of frozen corn
1 can of rotel
1 can of black beans
Place chicken in bottom of crock pot and cover with other ingredients
Cook on low all day. I'm going to serve mine w/tortillas and rice
Peach Cobbler
Ingredients
8 fresh peaches - peeled, pitted and sliced into thin wedges
1/4 cup white sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
2 teaspoons cornstarch
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup white sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, chilled and cut into small pieces
1/4 cup boiling water
MIX TOGETHER:
3 tablespoons white sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Directions
Preheat oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C).
In a large bowl, combine peaches, 1/4 cup white sugar, 1/4 cup brown sugar, 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon, nutmeg, lemon juice, and cornstarch. Toss to coat evenly, and pour into a 2 quart baking dish. Bake in preheated oven for 10 minutes.
Meanwhile, in a large bowl, combine flour, 1/4 cup white sugar, 1/4 cup brown sugar, baking powder, and salt. Blend in butter with your fingertips, or a pastry blender, until mixture resembles coarse meal. Stir in water until just combined.
Remove peaches from oven, and drop spoonfuls of topping over them. Sprinkle entire cobbler with the sugar and cinnamon mixture. Bake until topping is golden, about 30 minutes.
Hummingbird Food
boiled water--enough to fill your container
1/4 c. sugar for each cup of water--make sure you use sugar and not a sugar substitute
few drops of red-food coloring
This morning I went to get the baby and found that he had stripped from the waist down! He was all smiley and so proud of himself. What I am still trying to figure out is how he slept all night. He had to take the diaper off pretty early in the night as it was almost completely dry! Geez, if I knew sleeping in a urine soaked bed was the key to getting to sleep all night I would have let him sleep naked a long time. Ok, I'm kidding! Can you imagine the mess that would have created and the money that I would have to spend on mattress replacements?? Thankfully, Rory was still home and I was able to hand off lord and master of the pee-pee to him. While Rory got pee-pee monster settled in the tub I stripped the bed and cleaned the carpet...
Next on the agenda was getting some breakfast. I decided that bacon and eggs would be a great Monday breakfast. All goes well with cooking breakfast...then I decide that it would be nice to go ahead and put something in the crock pot for dinner tonight. I remembered that there was this recipe that I found on Pinterest that I wanted to try. It sounded simple and I had all the ingredients: Chicken, cream cheese, corn, rotel and black beans. I got the chicken out of the freezer and started unwrapping it--it was wrapped in press and seal and then put in a freezer bag. Shouldn't be a problem, right? Well somehow one little bitty piece of plastic was stuck between 2 pieces of chicken. As hard as I tried I could not pull it out and running it under water did not help either. I was trying to avoid defrosting it in the microwave because that would mean one more dirty dish that I would have to look at. By this time the eggs were starting to get cold and the pee-pee monster was wanting more than the milk I gave him 15 minutes ago. So I washed my hands(because who wants to get salmonella at 8:30 in the morning??) and started feeding the pee-pee monster. Ding the microwave went off and I still could not get this blasted piece of plastic from between the chicken pieces! I was contemplating just cooking it that way and whoever found the plastic at dinner would win a prize! Finally after several minutes in the microwave and lots of hand washing in between(because I am still feeding pee-pee monster and trying to jerk this little piece of plastic out of the chicken every few minutes) the plastic is released and I do a happy happy joy dance and throw all the ingredients into the crock pot. I feel on top of the world because every few seconds I am mentally reminding myself to turn on the crock pot--and it works because I remembered to turn it on instead of leaving raw chicken and various ingredients in a cold pot all day long--don't laugh you've done it too!
The next thing I know shoes are being tossed at me by the pee-pee monster. He's also carrying around one of his tennis-shoes. This means, 'take me outside'. I put my shoes on and he brings me another pair of shoes and insists that I put them on, too. Finally after about 15 times of putting the shoes away and trying to explain to a toddler that you can only wear one pair of shoes, I think he gets it. Meanwhile, he is still walking around with only one of his shoes on...
It is a beautiful day today. The humidity is low and it's not even 70 degrees yet. I've taught pee-pee monster to run when I say, 'on your mark, get set, go!' He thinks it's hilarious and runs as fast as he can while trying not to stumble because he's giggling so hard! Then the dreaded neighbor dog shows up...I don't mind dogs, but this dog is the most annoying yappy little dog I have had the pleasure of knowing. Oh course pee-pee monster loves this dog and makes a beeline for the fence. Thankfully, today I was able to direct his attention elsewhere and we did not have to talk to the annoying, yappy dog. So, we started running again and we found this little butterfly. The picture is not all that great because I only had the camera on my phone. If I had gone inside to get the camera I would have never found the butterfly again.
After a few more times of 'on your mark, get set, go!' I decide it's time to come in because there are mounds of laundry to do today and son #1 will be getting up and we need to get the school day started. While I was gathering laundry, son #1 is in the garage getting a waffle out of the fridge in there(he doesn't eat eggs, but I did cook him some bacon)and the pee-pee monster somehow manages to close and lock the door out to the garage...I walk out to start laundry and son #1 is opening the garage door so he can walk around to get back in the house. Great! pee-pee monster knows how to work the locks on doors...
While son #1 wakes up and eats breakfast the pee-pee monster and I go to his room to play and read books. Son #1 loved books and we could read for hours. Pee-pee monster, well he is all about figuring things out and getting into all the trouble he can before he can be found out. I did manage to get a couple of books read to him today. One is a classic The Purple Crayon by Crockett Johnson and the other is Yummy Yucky by one of my new favorite children's author Leslie Patricelli.
Laundry is going, floors have been vacuumed, pee-pee monster has had a nutritious lunch of ham sandwich, grapes and milk and for now he sleeps and we all relax a little bit...and the day is only half-over...Do I have any volunteers to clean the kitchen and bathrooms because I have my sights set on Algebra and The Three Musketeers with son #1 oh yeah and I've got to make that peach cobbler today!
Dinner Tonight
chicken breasts--they can be frozen just make sure all the plastic is removed!
1 pkg cream cheese
1/2 bag of frozen corn
1 can of rotel
1 can of black beans
Place chicken in bottom of crock pot and cover with other ingredients
Cook on low all day. I'm going to serve mine w/tortillas and rice
Peach Cobbler
Ingredients
8 fresh peaches - peeled, pitted and sliced into thin wedges
1/4 cup white sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
2 teaspoons cornstarch
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup white sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, chilled and cut into small pieces
1/4 cup boiling water
MIX TOGETHER:
3 tablespoons white sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Directions
Preheat oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C).
In a large bowl, combine peaches, 1/4 cup white sugar, 1/4 cup brown sugar, 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon, nutmeg, lemon juice, and cornstarch. Toss to coat evenly, and pour into a 2 quart baking dish. Bake in preheated oven for 10 minutes.
Meanwhile, in a large bowl, combine flour, 1/4 cup white sugar, 1/4 cup brown sugar, baking powder, and salt. Blend in butter with your fingertips, or a pastry blender, until mixture resembles coarse meal. Stir in water until just combined.
Remove peaches from oven, and drop spoonfuls of topping over them. Sprinkle entire cobbler with the sugar and cinnamon mixture. Bake until topping is golden, about 30 minutes.
Hummingbird Food
boiled water--enough to fill your container
1/4 c. sugar for each cup of water--make sure you use sugar and not a sugar substitute
few drops of red-food coloring
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